Santoli on this confusing market | Buffett's latest moves | House Democrats pass stimulus package

Stocks finished the week with losses in what continues to be a befuddling market.

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE SAT, MAY 16, 2020 WEEKEND BRIEF EDITOR'S NOTE Investors seem undecided as to whether stocks are in a bull or bear market.   CNBC's senior markets commentator Michael Santoli has an assessment of this confusing market.   The S&P 500 suffered it's fastest drop in history as the coronavirus pandemic shut down the economy, and then it made a dizzying recovery following multi-trillion-dollar  responses from the Federal Reserve.   Some investors say the Fed established a bottom for the market. Others say the market's swift recovery begs for a retesting of  its March 23 lows. And while some argue that investors are far  too negative, others complain they're way too optimistic. Meantime the pandemic remains unpredictable and the future unknowable.   "What's clear," Santoli writes, "is that anyone buttressing a positive case by claiming 'Everyone's bearish' and those calling for deep downside on the notion that 'Everyone is too bullish' are equally unreliable at the moment."   CNBC's Patti Domm writes that we're stuck in a range-bound market.   "We have been very adamant about the definition of this market as being neither bull nor bear," said Julian Emanuel, chief equity and derivatives strategist at BTIG. "It's bounded by the 200-day moving average on the top, which is basically 3,000, and the 200-week moving average on the bottom, which is 2,667."   Which way the market goes when it snaps out of its current range depends largely on the incremental reopenings of state economies. Essentially, they need to go well because that's how investors have been betting.   If you are a CNBC PRO subscriber, be sure to check out the latest moves of the biggest investors on the CNBC PRO page, including Warren Buffett and Bill Ackman.  Al Lewis | CNBC Markets Editor @tellittoal MICHAEL SANTOLI'S MARKET COLUMN Assessing the stock market after one of the fastest declines and subsequent comebacks in history   THE WEEK AHEAD Stocks could be stuck in a range until there's more proof reopenings are reviving the economy   ACTIVIST SPOTLIGHT Activist Starboard jumps into a possible big turnaround situation for a fintech   YOUR WEEKEND BRIEFING  House Democrats pass $3 trillion coronavirus relief package Latest news on coronavirus Amazon declines to commit to Jeff Bezos testimony in Congress Warren Buffett's latest moves: Berkshire ups one bank stake and dramatically cuts another Trump fires State Department watchdog critical of admin moves Bill Ackman made $2 billion shorting the market and then went long. Here's what he's buying Cramer's week ahead: 'All bets are off' if another U.S.-China trade war sparks Mike Bloomberg plots spending blitz to support Joe Biden's run for president Third Point triples Amazon stake amid market rout — Here are Dan Loeb's other big bets NFL teams can begin reopening facilities on Tuesday if state and local governments allow     Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy   © 2020 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS